Nurse who treated shooting victims dies in Iowa

DENVER | A nurse who helped treat victims of the Aurora theater shooting in Colorado has drowned while on a family vacation in Iowa.

Forty-six-year-old Jennifer Gallagher, of Denver, died earlier this month. She went swimming in West Lake Okoboji the night of Aug. 6 and her body was found the next day.

Gallagher worked at the University of Colorado Hospital for 13 years and cared for one shooting victim treated in the hospital’s neurological intensive care unit, which she helped open. She was among staffers who met with President Barack Obama during his visit after the July 20 shooting rampage.

The hospital’s nursing chief officer, Carolyn Sanders, said Gallagher was a “beloved nurse” who was well known for her ability to connect with people and develop caring relationships with her patients.